Today’s teaching on the family

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See the daily excerpt from the preparatory catechesis for the 2015 World Meeting of Families, “Love is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive.”

26. Marriage imagery is central in describing God’s covenant with Israel and, later, his covenant with the Church. As Pope Benedict XVI taught, “Marriage based on exclusive and definitive love becomes the icon of the relationship between God and his people and vice versa.” God’s covenant is a central theme of Scripture, and marriage is the Bible’s privileged metaphor for describing God’s relationship with humanity. Along these lines, when he was still Archbishop of Munich, Pope Benedict XVI had explained:

We can say that God created the universe in order to enter into a history of love with humankind. He created it so that love could exist. Behind this lie words of Israel that lead directly to the New Testament…. God created the universe in order to be able to become a human being and pour out his love upon us and to invite us to love him in return.

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In its introduction, the document says its aim is to present “Catholic teaching in a way that is fresh, insightful, and accessible to contemporary Catholics and all people of good will.” The catechesis “offers a narrative beginning with our creation, soberly noting our fall and the challenges we face, but emphasizing God’s plan for our salvation. Love is our mission, and it is by loving God and one another that we will be fully alive.”

Each day in CatholicPhilly.com’s World Meeting of Families section you can reflect on the official Catholic teaching on the family presented in the catechesis, pray a special prayer together as a family or individually, and stay on top of breaking news about the events coming Sept. 22-27, 2015.